


In My Remains

by zoedupin



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Batman: Under the Red Hood (2010), Nightwing (Comics), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics)
Genre: Angst and Feels, Batfamily (DCU), Brotherly Bonding, Bruce Wayne is Bad at Feelings, Dick Grayson Being a Dick, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Family Bonding, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Jason Todd Needs A Hug, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-01
Updated: 2020-12-06
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:08:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,813
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26757028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zoedupin/pseuds/zoedupin
Summary: “I have to save those people.” he said instead. Dick snorted.“You have to? What makes you think that you can go alone?”“What makes you think that I can’t?” Jason replied. He had more important things to do than bickering with the Golden Boy.“You can’t because you are my brother. You don’t have to like it  or accept it but you have to understand. You are my brother and there is no way that I let you go alone.”“What was I to you when I died? Not your brother obviously.”
Relationships: Batfamily Members & Dick Grayson, Dick Grayson & Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson & Jason Todd, Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne
Comments: 9
Kudos: 161





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So basically I wanted to write a short story about batfam. There are some swearing words -thanks to Jason- and some violence and grammar errors because English is not my native language. No other warnings though. I hope you will like it.

**JASON:**

Jason didn’t know better. He didn’t. That was what he kept telling himself despite the obvious truth.

He knew better. He did. He knew that Dick was a stubborn ass. Begrudgingly, he knew that despite everything, despite every mean word, every beating, every inexcusable behavior; Dick would never leave him alone. He never did.

Looking around, Jason tried to find something to untie his hands and legs. Normally, it would take no time for a bat-trained person to get rid of the ropes, but when the person who ties the ropes is the very-first boy wonder, it takes time and hell of an effort.

Jason was going to kill Dick Grayson if Joker hadn’t already.

Turning around with the chair he was tied up, Jason saw a small knife, which was deliberately left behind. He pushed himself backward and fell down with a silent grunt. Struggling a bit, he took the knife from the ground and cut the ropes. After freeing himself Jason realized that he was still sore and had a numbing headache. His shoulders were weighing tons and he was almost naked. Great. Fantastic. Now he can continue his vigilante career as Red Boxer. Peachy.

Another reason to kill Dickhead.

*******

It all started with a letter.

Nightwing and Red Hood were on a covert mission, which was happening a lot lately -not like he was complaining though-. They were supposed to infiltrate a warehouse, see what’s going on, and engage only if necessary.

Turned out that it wasn’t necessary at all, because there was nothing in the place, except for a letter in the middle of it and a few bombs scattered here and there. Jason knew the drill.

When they got outside unscratched and with the letter, Jason realized that it was written to him.

**_“To Daddy’s Dearest (aka The Dead Robin);”_ **

Joker.

Of course, it had to be the Joker.

_**“One little birdie told me that it has already been 6 (six) years since our little party. Ahhh, time... It flies like a bird, you know? (HA- HA!)** _

_**So, what do you say about a reunion with your daddy Joker?** _

_**On the second thought, you don’t even have a choice. Do you, Boy Blunder?** _

_**I know what makes you bats work -even the feral ones-. It’s easy peasy lemon squeezy. You come and save 5 (five) INNOCENT people from death’s grasp. Don’t come, and they share your fate. (HA-HA-HA!)** _

_**You know where to find me, Little Red Riding Hood.** _

_**After all, we are old acquaintances, aren’t we?** _

_**P.S. Don’t call Batsy or the party will be canceled with 5 casualties, etc., etc.** _

_**DADDY JOKER 😊”** _

THE FUCKER!

This was all Bruce’s doing. His poor understanding of justice. His stupid pride. His idiotic code. The Batman doesn’t kill but he lets people get killed by a crazy clown. What a hero!

“What is this Hood?” Oh, yeah. Jason completely forgot about Nightwing, who was standing next to him and probably waiting for an answer.

“A letter.”

“Oh shit, Sherlock!” Dick said grimly and looked at Jason as if the answers were written all over his face. He was fidgeting nervously, trying to keep his composure calm.

“How do you know where to find him, Hood?”

“I... I don’t know.” Lie.

“Hood.” Nightwing said, calm and kind. His voice reminded him of the times he didn’t want to remember. The times when he was all about hatred and anger. The times when he was all alone, consumed with rage and betrayal and many other emotions he doesn’t want to remember anymore. Yet, here he is. A few words from the freaking clown and everything falls apart, he goes back to the hole he dug out of. Again.

“Jay...”

“Shut up!” Jason hissed. He needed to think and breathe.

“I’ll explain,” he said after a long pause, not knowing what to say. _‘Oh Dickie, you see it’s already been 6 years since I literally died and the fucker thinks that it would be funny if I die twice. Do you know why he finds this funny? Because Batman still lets him to breathe despite all the things that had happened.’_ but Jason didn’t say that. It is not like Dickface could understand him.

“I have to save those people,” he said instead. Dick snorted.

“You have to? What makes you think that you can go alone?”

“What makes you think that I can’t?” Jason replied. He had more important things to do than bickering with the Golden Boy.

“You can’t because you are my brother. You don’t have to like it or accept it but you have to understand. You are my brother and there is no way that I let you go alone.”

“What was I to you when I died? Not your brother obviously.”

That hit a nerve. Jason knew but he didn’t care. All he wanted was for Nightwing to leave him alone. Jason didn’t need him or Batman or any of the freaking Batclan. Not tonight.

Tonight, he will put an end to this shit. He will do what Batman couldn’t and didn’t let Jason do. He will kill the Joker and avenge not only himself but also everyone who got hurt by this bastard.

“-ven listening to me!”

If only Nightwing could shut up.

“Save your shitty thoughts to someone who’s willing to listen, Goldie. And leave me alone, will you?”

Dick didn’t seem impressed, didn’t show any signs of leaving either. Instead, he tilted his head and looked at Jason. Somehow, even under that stupid domino mask, Jason felt like Dick could see through him. He could see what Jason was truly. A broken boy, who was beyond any repairment; hiding under the façade of cold, reckless and brave. What sent shivers through Jason’s body were not those reasons anyway. It was acceptance. It was the fact that since his resurrection Dick was the only one who didn’t try to change him or ‘rehabilitate’ him. He was the only one who accepted Jason, with everything he had ever done and probably with everything he will ever do. Jason hates him for that. He hates Dick being there for him. It gives him hope. A hope that is destined to turn into disappointment when he needs it the most.

Just like it did six years ago today.

***

“We should call Batman.” said Dick.

“And then what?” asked Jason.

“Then we will stop him.”

“For how long?”

“...” Bingo.

“Answer me Nightwing, for how long? How long will it take for him to get out of prison? How long will it take for him to kill someone ‘innocent’ again?” Then Jason waited for his words to sink in.

“How long until he hurts another Robin?” And the final blow...! Discomfort was radiating from the first Robin. Then he came closer as if he was surrounding a wounded animal.

“You’re angry and I get it but this isn’t how it works. You kill him and you will feel good and believe me when I say that you will. But answer me Little Bird: How long will it take for you to feel unsatisfied? How long will it take for you to kill someone ‘evil’ again?” Dick let out an angry breath.

“You know why Batman doesn’t kill the Joker. Killing a killer doesn’t change the number of killers in the world. You know that!”

“Yeah.” Jason grunted. “What I know is that Batman is a coward! Too afraid to kill the Joker. Because without him, there is no Batman. He is just as crazy as the clown; he is obsessed with him. And he is wasting us in his stupid game! One by one!” Jason took a sharp breath, suddenly his words stuck in his throat and breathing became a harder task to complete.

“Indeed, little brother but tell me. Just tell me that you want to kill him for justice and not for revenge. What happened to you is p-”

“What happened to me...” Jason said. “Let me tell you what happened to me. I DIED.” Jason almost screamed. “I was beaten to death by a maniacal clown. Then I died and I dug out of my fucking grave to find out that this clown hadn’t even been punished. Of course, I want revenge. I need him dead to feel alive. This is not only about me though. I want to kill him to avenge others too. Tell me that Oracle doesn’t deserve to get avenged! Tell me that she doesn’t worth it!”

Nightwing heaved a sigh. He neither made a comment nor moved. He looked thoughtful and tired as if this conversation was weighing him down. Jason tried not to feel too guilty by his choice of sentences. He was not wrong anyway; he was just being a little bit cruel.

“I want in.” said Nightwing sternly which made Jason laugh humourlessly.

“Yeah sure, why not? What are you going to want next? Rubber bullets?”

“I want in, Hood.” That stubborn ass.

“Sorry, bro. I won’t corrupt B’s Golden Child. I mean _I would love to_ but I don’t want Batman on my tail right now.” Nightwing didn’t seem like he was listening to Jason, he was probably thinking some stupid answer. Suddenly he smiled and sent a mischievous grin to Jason, who gave him a dirty look in response.

“What the hell Dickiebird?” Jason asked skeptically, knowing that Grayson was the lord of the bad ideas. And puns.

“I know where to meet him,” Dick said and scowled his brows as if he was thinking something important.

“Do you think your clothes would fit me?”

“My wha-” That was the last thing Jason managed to say before he got hit by a huge jolt of electricity and lost his consciousness before he even realized what was going on.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No relief. No joy. No anger. 
> 
> Jason felt nothing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, here is the new chapter. I hope you will like it. Thank you for your comments and kudos!

**JASON:**

Jason had been electrified and it had hurt like hell. Seriously, how Bruce could let Dickiebird use electrical escrima sticks was beyond Jason’s understanding. Those things could easily be lethal, even more than guns. 

He released an exaggerated huff. Thinking about sticks wouldn’t get him from point A to point B. He needed to get out of this place and find his stupid brother but first, he needed some damn clothes. 

To find something useful, Jason quickly searched the warehouse. On the second step of the dusty stairs, he found his earbuds. Well, the courtesy of Dickhead, he scoffed. Ignoring his growing anger, Jason put on the earbuds to reach Nightwing. 

“Nightwing,” he said, rage dripping off from his voice. For a few seconds, Jason thought that his brother wouldn’t answer him but seconds later Dick’s annoyingly cheerful voice filled his ears. 

“Hood, you’re awake!” His calmness was getting on Jason’s nerves. 

“And you are dead Dickface.” he growled. “Where are my damn clothes?” said again, even though he already knew the answer. 

“Well... they’re here with me.” Dick let out a fake laugh. “On me actually, reminding me why to not wear red again. Red really doesn’t look good on me Hood. It makes me look short.” 

“That is because you are short, dumb-ass.” Jason snickered. “Now tell me what the hell are you doing?” His demeanor turned into something more serious while he waited for Dick’s answer. 

“Okay, if you insist... Let’s start with the good news then, Robin and Red Robin are on their way to get you, I told them to bring your Red Hood gear too, just hope that they don’t accidentally (!) forget. Seems like you and Robin were not on good terms before we left the cave.” 

“I swear to God if he does-” 

“Relax, Little Bird. I am sure he wouldn't do that.” teased Dick. “On the other hand, I and Batman are on the Batwing headed to Sarajevo to capture Joker.” 

“To capture?” Jason asked incredulously. “After everything we’ve talked about, you just electrified me to run off with Batman to _’capture_ _’_ Joker?” his voice was filled with disbelief. Of course, he didn’t expect Dick to suddenly go on a killing spree but he didn’t expect this either. 

“Don’t sound too betrayed Little bird. It’s not like I would let you go all alone anywhere near Joker again. Though I had to admit, this was not my initial plan either”. Dick took a deep breath. “I know that this is going to sound ridiculous but... The Joker is dying Hood. He has stage IV brain cancer and obviously a very short life span.” 

***** 

No relief. No joy. No anger. 

Jason felt nothing. 

Deep down he wanted to laugh. This was ludicrous. A monster like him shouldn’t die in such a humane way. A monster has to die like a monster. Him, dying like this, couldn’t make Jason feel victorious. He felt defeated. He wanted to kill him. He wanted to be the one who kills him, who tortures him. He wanted to be the one who makes him pay for what he did to others, to him. Now, he doesn’t even have the time to kill the clown. He wanted Joker to suffer for an eternity, not for a few months. 

The lucky bastard. 

“Pfft,” said another voice in the room. Jason wasn’t startled though; he already knew that the Replacement and Demon Spawn were already here thanks to their incessant bickering. "Seems like the universe is doing what Father couldn’t.” Jason couldn’t agree more. 

“Umm...” he heard Nightwing’s unsure sound. “since you’ve got company, I think it’s my time to go. Red Robin will explain everything. Just...” he stopped. “Just try to be quick because we don’t know what Joker has in his pockets and we might need your help.” 

“Yeah, fine. Just don’t think that we are finished.” 

“I know Little Bird. We’ve got a lot to talk about.” Dick sighed. “Take care, all of you.” 

Jason didn’t bother to answer, instead, he turned around to see the idiots. Replacement was doing some stuff on his tablet while Robin was watching him intently, with a scowl on his face. 

“-Tt- Hood, you really look pathetic.” spoke the devil. “If I were to be a goon that you went after, I would definitely feel humiliated and probably would’ve killed myself to protect my honor before you got me.” 

“Shut up, short stuff.” Damian looked furious. Height had always been one of his biggest insecurities. 

“Well,” he said in a calm and calculated tone. “at least I am not standing in the middle of a warehouse, in my underwear.” Jason rolled his eyes with an exasperated sigh. Arguing with Damian was pointless, the spawn was only a monster that feeds on people’s energy. 

“So, where are my damn clothes?” Jason said, suddenly remembered the things he needed the most. 

“Give me a few seconds,” replied the Replacement. “and, the Batplane is here on the roof. C’mon guys, we’ve got to go.” he said a little bit later, not even spared a glance on Jason’s way. 

**** 

After wearing his usual clothes, Jason could say that some of the tension he had had before finally left his body _–the only problem was his guns, they all had rubber bullets much to his dismay-_. Surprisingly, his brothers seemed calmer too. Damian was sitting on his seat quietly, while Tim was entering the coordinates for Sarajevo. 

“It will take four hours for us to land in Sarajevo. Batman and Nightwing left two hours ago. They will go on a stakeout mission to see the situation of the _hostages_ ; and if they are unharmed, they will not engage until we go there.” said Tim, still busy with the control panel. 

“You know about the letter,” Jason said groaning. “Great.” 

“Yeah, Nightwing told us. After we told him about Joker’s disease.” 

“Are you sure that he is really sick?” Jason hoped he wasn’t. 

“Not at first but now I think it is a high possibility,” said Replacement. “After you and Dick left, Ra’s Al Ghul called Batman. He told him that a week ago Joker sent him a message, claiming that he needed to use the Lazarus Pit. However, the Demon’s Head declined Joker’s offer as a gesture of goodwill for Batman and also for the sake of his heir, aka the current Robin.” 

“And you believed in his good(!) intentions?” Jason asked, scandalized. 

“For everything he is, my grandfather has never been a liar Todd!” said Damian furiously. 

“Whatever helps you sleep at night Bat Brat!” 

“Damian is not wrong this time Jason.” Tim intervened in their argument. “After that conversation with Ra’s; I and Robin went to Arkham Asylum to collect Joker’s medical reports. Then, we talked to his doctors. As Dick said, he has stage IV brain cancer, he was diagnosed two weeks ago. There is no turning back from that Jason. Joker won’t be able to see the next year. Batman has already prepared a room for him in the Watchtower. He will stay there until his death. They will only get him the necessary medical assistance. No magic. No pits. Only the legal procedure that is being followed by other patients.” 

A good plan. Almost believable. He still had his suspicions though. All of these things could be another trick of the clown. Hell, they were probably walking into a trap. Also, Jason wasn’t sure if he could follow the plan when he saw the clown. It was understandable though; if Joker died naturally then there would be _no one_ _(Jason)_ to blame. Besides, it would be terrific to taunt the clown in his last days. 

“One more question though,” Jason said. “Did Nightwing already know about this plan when he electrified me?” He pretended to look as nonchalant as possible even though he was actually fretting about the answer. It wasn’t like the answer could change anything that had happened but it would still be great to know that someone cared. 

Tim sent him a knowing look. “No, he didn’t.” was all he gave him as an answer. 

So, Nightwing actually did have another plan. 

The rest of the flight was silent. Eerily silent, in Damian’s case. Jason could see the kid’s uneasiness. It wasn’t surprising though. Bruce and Dick were the only people he managed to love with his corrupted heart. 

“Batman to Batplane. When will you be at the meeting point?" a stoic voice came from the panel. 

“Estimated time is 20 minutes,” answered Red Robin. 

“Do you need immediate assistance?” asked Robin indifferently. _Indifferent to my ass,_ thought Jason. 

“Negative,” Batman said while his voice told a different story. “We will be waiting for you at the meeting point, to inform you about the data we collected. Batman out.” with that Batman left. 

**** 

20 minutes. 

20 more minutes to the point of no return.

****

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is the end of the chapter. I hope I managed to answer some of your questions. Next chapter may take a few days longer, until then stay safe!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Sooo... Which one are you?” he heard Joker saying behind him. “Too tall to be the new one. Too stupid to be the third one. Too feisty to be the dead one. Ohhhh...You’re the first one aren’t ya, the one always laughs? BWAHAHAHA-HAHAHAHA! Silly boy, I didn’t know that you were jealous of your replacement. All you needed was to ask, I would clip your wings too,” he paused for a second and added “with pleasure.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! long time no see. One more chapter to go. Thank you for all your kudos and comments, they help me to find the plot gaps in this story. It was really hard for me to write from Joker's pov. I still feel insecure about that part. Hopefully, I didn't screw up. Probably in the next chapter I will be able to explain all of your questions.

DICK

Nightwing knew how to fight with villains.

He knew how to fight with Joker.

Or Blockbuster.

Or Two-Face.

What Nightwing didn’t know was how to fight with his emotions.

Unlucky for him, Dick Grayson didn’t know either.

“ _Don’t fight with your feelings.” used to say, Leslie. “Try to embrace them.”_

Duh.

How could someone embrace their feelings if they were filled with shame and self-hatred?

They couldn’t.

No one could.

And what if that _‘someone’_ was afraid of talking about his emotions?

What if his feelings were like a swamp, what if every time he struggled he went deeper?

Who was there to save him?

No one.

_‘No one’_ was his choice anyway.

It wasn’t about his family or friends. He trusted all of them.

It was about him.

It was about his inability to accept and move on, his fear of being a burden to others. He had always been a safety net for his family, and a safety net has to be strong and flawless.

His emotions were his flaws.

Sometimes he wanted to feel less. Sometimes he wanted to _‘be’_ less.

Instead, he became the Robin, the first Boy Wonder.

Batman’s protégé.

The one who brought demise upon the others; Jason, Tim, Damian, Barbara...

It wasn’t completely his fault though. Things were great at first. He and Batman were kicking criminals’ asses on a nightly basis as the Dynamic Duo. They were the kings of the Gotham nights. They were invincible, undefeatable. At least that was what he thought until Jason’s death. That woke him up from his dream and shook him to the core.

_‘Huh, not so invincible anymore’_ he thought.

“Any visual on hostages?” asked Batman suddenly.

“Yep,” said Nightwing looking through his binoculars. “They’re still unconscious.” or dead, he wanted to add but didn’t want to push his luck with Batman, who hadn’t even spared a glance at him since the moment he saw him in Red Hood gears.

Dick understood him though. Bruce was disappointed and he had several reasons to be:

  1. _Dick Grayson made a foolish plan, electrified his brother and stole his clothes._
  2. _He was using a real gun, several guns actually, much to Bruce’s despise._
  3. _He didn’t contact anyone and went out on his own._
  4. _He was about to kill the Joker and break “the” rule._



And Batman still hadn’t made a comment about it, which was worrying and annoying at the same time.

“Do we really have to wait for them? We are capable enough to capture Joker.”

_I don’t want to endanger my brothers,_ was what he really wanted to say.

“Hnn,” grunted Batman. “We are not. He has hostages; we cannot protect them and fight with the Joker at the same time.”

“O-kay.” Nightwing said cautiously. He knew Batman had many things to say about his perfectly rhymed, out-dated plan; “wear like Red Hood and kill the Joker for good”. But thanks to Joker, Batman was in his vengeance mode, which made it impossible for them to have a heart to heart conversation.

_Phew!_

Luckily for Nightwing, the 20 minutes had passed quickly, and his brothers were in the Batplane above the rooftop he and Batman were waiting.

****

Dick wasn’t the best brother of the year, not anymore. A few hours ago he might have a slim chance but after the stunt he pulled, that chance was even below zero.

Well, shame on Joker.

This was not how he planned his night to go. He and Jason were supposed to make a stake-out mission and then go home. All he wanted was to sleep, preferably for the rest of his life.

_And look where I am now,_ he mused. The sky was slowly getting into darker shades. _Few more hours and it will be over,_ he dared to think.

“Grayson!” he heard Damian before he saw him. “How could you wear that thing and humiliate yourself? –Tt- You look like a clown!”

“Easy there, spawn. Let the grown-ups speak,” said Jason, in an eerily calm manner.

“Now, make a good explanation so that I won’t shoot you,” he said after he got off the plane and landed in front of Nightwing.

“Those are rubber bullets, you imbecile.”

Tim gave out an exasperated sigh. “Maybe we can have this conversation ‘after’ we catch the Joker.”

“Agreed.” Dick jumped at the idea and in return got an unimpressed glare from Damian.

“Alright, do you have any plans? What have you found so far?” asked Jason, oddly he didn’t prolong the argument and waited for Batman to end his conversation with Watchtower.

“Copy that. Batman out.” After that, Bruce looked at each of his sons, greeted the newcomers in his grumpy style, and opened his wrist computer to show the blueprints of Joker’s warehouse.

“The warehouse has only one entrance. The windows are barred. The roof is also undamaged which means that we can only enter via the main door.”

“And fall into Joker’s trap.”

“Not necessarily,” said Bruce and tilted his head slightly to see Jason better. “Joker is only expecting Red Hood, not all of us. The victims are on the left side of the warehouse far away from the entrance. They might be jokerized or simply unconscious.”

“Or dead.” Red Robin helpfully added.

“Possibly,” answered Batman gruffly.

“There are also 10 henchmen of the Joker protecting the warehouse from outside. Red Hood and pseudo-Red Hood –which is me- will go first to engage with goons. Our priority is to make Joker believe that his plan is actually working, as long as we can.” said Nightwing, waited for his words to sink in.

“This may actually work,” commented Red Robin with excitement. “They won’t even realize that there are two of you, fighting with them.”

“Exactly. After we neutralize them, I will get inside and distract Joker while Batman and Red Hood cut the bars on the left side and get the hostages into safety or fight with them, depending on the circumstances.”

“Oh no!” groaned Red Robin. “Does this mean I and Demon Spawn have to team up?”

Damian groaned too, while Dick gave them a wicked smile. “You two are going to be our wild-cards.”

“I want you to keep watching our surroundings. Sick or not, this is the Joker we are talking about. Our mission is to capture him and this might be our only chance before he finds a way to cure his disease. I want you to watch for the warehouse, and keep an eye on us. Do not engage, until I say otherwise. Do you understand me?” said Batman coldly; Nightwing knew that deep down he wanted to keep the kids safe, a mutual feeling he could relate to.

“Father, this plan is silly. You are keeping your best warrior out of the field.”

“Agreed. We need the Replacement to have our backs.” Jason said to mock Damian.

It worked.

“You imbecile!” shouted Damian. “Father! You cannot be naive enough to go with this incompetent traitor! This plan is doomed.”

“Gee! Thank you for the vote of confidence, Little Bird.” Dick sighed if only his brothers could get along with each other...

“Keep your comms open and do not take unnecessary risks. Is it understood?” asked Batman for the last time.

“Aye aye, Captain!” Jason said and with that, they left the rooftop silently.

The rooftop they had met was only a mile away from the Joker’s warehouse. Red Robin and Robin got in their places and now it was time for Team Red to start the show.

“Robin, Red Robin! Are you in position?” Nightwing heard Batman’s voice through the comms.

“Yes, Batman. We are 200 meters behind you. Everything is in order.” said Red Robin.

_So far so good._

“Nightwing, four goons at three o clock.”

“On it!” Nightwing said. Finally, some action was on the way.

“Red Hood, six of them at nine o’clock.” he heard Batman again before he started running towards his destination.

Fighting with goons was the easy part. A few kicks to here and there and goons went down like a sack of potatoes.

“Need a hand, Red Hood?” Dick teased his brother through the comms. He could hear gunshots and goons’ whimpers clearly.

“Nah, already,” Red Hood stopped talking for a second. “finished,” he added with a loud punching sound.

“Batman,” Nightwing talked again. “We are ready to engage. Are you in position?”

“Positive, be careful. There may be bombs inside the building. Don’t do anything reckless. “Batman hesitated for a few seconds as if deciding what to say next. “Nightwing you go in first. Red Hood, you are with me, you and I will wait for his signal.”

“Yeah whatever, I am disappointed though. What happened to your manners? Couldn’t you wait until I die to replace me with this cheerleader?” Jason said dramatically, there was a false edge to his voice.

“Concentrate on the mission, Red Hood. Batman out.”

Nightwing couldn’t even imagine how hard this mission must be for his brother and father. One of them had lost his life while the other had lost his son in here, in this rusty broken warehouse. Not letting his mind wander around the feelings he buried, he went inside through the broken door of the warehouse, while pushing those feelings even deeper.

****

The warehouse was huge and in utter darkness. Thankfully Jason’s helmet had night vision and allowed him to see his surroundings. There were several chairs and many boxes scattered around, most of the windows were broken or fractured though the bars were still undamaged. The place was dusty and the air inside was damp but the building itself was not old, mostly neglected. They must have rebuilt it after Jason’s death.

Bastards.

He could see the hostages too. They were at the same place Batman told them, _good._ They were not showing any signs of being alive, _bad._

Across the hostages, the Joker was sitting in one of the chairs with a crowbar in his hands and blatantly watching him.

“Robin, my boy, is that really you?” he asked with a pretentious concern, “Your poor daddy here missed you a lot.” he went on. “Why don’t cha give him a hug, huh?” he said while his voice became more sinister and his infamous smile settled on his face.

“Why don’t I open a big hole on his brain, huh?” said pseudo-Red Hood and aimed his gun at Joker’s head.

“Eww, Dickface.” he heard Jason saying. “I am not that cliché!”

Dick smiled and turned his attention back to Joker.

“Now now, here I thought that I taught you a lesson about your manners. Want me to teach you again? _HA-HA!”_ he swung the crowbar in the air.

“I’ll pass. Just cut the crap quickly, I’ve got other things to do,” said Dick as nonchalantly as possible. There was a glint in Joker’s eyes that was giving him uneasiness. Something was off. Something was terribly off and unfortunately, Nightwing didn’t know what it was.

“ _TE-HEHEHEHAHA!_ Is this the place giving you _bad vibes?_ Or is it the _memories_ we shared? C’mon! Don’t be such a cry-baby! I thought we were having fun.” he said with a mocking innocence.

“My fun will start when I kick your ass, you sick clown!”

“Oh God!” he heard Jason again. “You’re embarrassing me!”

Suddenly a spotlight turned on above Joker, and he stood up, taking a step towards Dick, dragging the crowbar on the ground. Dick tried not the flinch at the screeching sounds.

_Don’t think about Jason, Don’t think about Jason_ , he repeated inside his head.

“Is something wrong?” Joker asked with fake concern. Then he tilted his head to see Dick better. “Did you have a fight with your Pops?” he took another step. “Nah, don’t answer that. I don’t care. He always finds another brat anyway. What I want from you...- I bet you will find this one funny- is to be my guest star. _HA!_ You and I, my boy, we will put on such a good show! But first, we need some audience. Right boys?”

That’s when Nightwing saw the movement where hostages used to be.

_Shit,_ he thought. _They’re jokerized._ All of them had pale white faces, with Joker’s terrible smile. They swiftly gathered behind the Joker.

“Nightwing! Red Hood and I are coming in five seconds.” he heard Batman saying, while the jokerized-victims were circling him. 

There must be something, some catch, something he had overlooked. He looked around frantically to see if there were any visible bombs. No. Nothing. He took his fighting position and waited for the attack.

It never came.

Instead, a bomb exploded at the back of the warehouse, and Batman emerged from the shadows.

Joker’s stance got rigid for a second and then loosened again.

“Joker!” Batman said. “It’s over.”

“ _HHH-HAAAA!_ BATMAN! My number one fanboy. I’m sorry but I won’t sign any photographs tonight.” Joker threw the crowbar into the air. “I will be extremely tired when the night is over.” He glanced at Dick and sent an irritating smile his way.

Suddenly Jason came out of nowhere and lunged at Joker. His solid kick met with the psycho’s face and he fell to the ground with a loud thud.

_Please lose your consciousness,_ thought Dick.

No such luck. Joker stood up almost immediately and spat on the floor. Dick could feel the shock radiating from him.

_Joke’s on you Joker,_ he thought.

“ _HEHEHE-HAHAHA!_ That was a fabulous trick. You almost got me there for a few seconds. Well done boys, well done! Now you see, sometimes life is even more diabolical than I can ever be. Oooh! I am jealous now.” Joker said and paused for a second, “ Hmmm... boys,” he shouted and then turned to his victims. “Seems like we have many guest-stars tonight. Let’s give them a cozy welcome. Shall we?”

It all happened too fast.

Nightwing somersaulted in the air and attacked the closest victim. A kick to the chin and he fell to the ground, just to get up again. There were black veins pumping in his neck.

_Oh-uh!_

Now he knew what was wrong. Joker had not only jokerized the victims, but he had also injected them with Bane’s venom.

_Oh shit!_ he thought.

He glanced at Batman and saw that he was already handling two, while Jason was fighting with the other two.

He turned his attention to his victim, who thrust himself over Nightwing. He sidestepped to dodge the incoming punch, then rolled over and punched the guy in his guts.

“Batman! This is Red Robin. There are new people coming in.” he heard Tim who was panting heavily.

“More goons?” asked Jason.

“No,” Tim replied flatly. “Cops.”

_Shitshitshit!_

“Sooo... Which one are you?” he heard Joker saying behind him. “Too tall to be the new one. Too stupid to be the third one. Too feisty to be the dead one. Ohhhh...You’re the first one aren’t ya, the one always laughs? _BWAHAHAHA-HAHAHAHA!_ Silly boy, I didn’t know that you were jealous of your replacement. All you needed was to ask, I would clip your wings too,” he paused for a second and added, “with pleasure.”

Nightwing turned around to see the Joker after he punched the victim in the face. The good news, the guy fell with a silent grunt and didn’t stand up again. The bad news, Joker had a gun aimed at him.

“Nah, don’t look at me so surprised, I know. I know this is not my M.O. but desperate times call for desperate measures. Your uncle Joker is growing old, you know? His eyes can’t see as well as they used to and he can’t tell apart the two of you. Unfortunately, he needs a distinguishable mark to recognize his brat.” He looked at him and then Jason, who was still fighting with the hostages.

Then he fired his gun.

****

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will come in a few weeks. Until then, stay safe!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And your son is dead.  
> Dead. Dead. Dead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I am sorry for being late. Online education sucks, really. I had midterms so I couldn't finish the chapter earlier. And at some point, I got lost in the story so I had to rewrite some parts. As you've noticed I had to add one more chapter to make a good final. So, I hope you will like the chapter.

** BRUCE: **

****

_“BANG!!!”_

A gunshot.

And Bruce Wayne was eight years old again; so small, so naive and so hopeful, idly waiting for his mom and dad to wake up.

He waited, waited, and waited.

They never woke up.

He never healed.

Instead, he became Batman.

The Dark Knight.

The Caped Crusader.

But beyond all of them, he became a father.

The first time he realized that, was the time when Dick got sick and called him dad.

_“Can you stay with me... dad?”_

He could still remember the way Dick looked at him. The boy was so unsure, so insecure and so... so vulnerable. Just like him, all those years ago.

It was already too late when he realized that being a father was proving to be a far harder job than being a vigilante. 

He had found it out in the worst way possible.

He had lost his son.

He had _failed_ his son.

_His son._

Jason.

Between him and his fight with injustice, Jason was the one who paid the price.

Bruce could still remember that day. How could he forget? He was still haunted by those memories.

 _You’re late,_ was what he kept telling himself while he was carrying his son’s broken body.

 _You’ve failed,_ was all he could think when he looked at his son’s grave.

_You couldn’t save him, protect him; you weren’t there when he needed you the most._

_You let Joker kill him._

_Joker killed him._

_And your son is dead._

_Dead. Dead. Dead._

The realization was like a punch in the guts. And it came later, so much later.

It came when he attacked the goons and waited for Robin to protect his back but instead got stabbed.

It came when he went outside as Bruce Wayne and saw that there were many children at Jason’s age on the streets. Some of them even resembled him with their blue eyes and black hairs.

But none of them were him.

None of them had his cocky smile or his witty remarks.

None of them had his brilliance or compassion.

How could they?

One would think that when you lose someone you love, you try harder not to lose the others, the ones who remained.

Instead, he ignored them, blamed them.

He pushed them away as if it could take away his pain, his anger, his shame.

It couldn’t.

Even Jason’s return from death couldn’t wash away his guilt, instead added much more than he could carry.

These were what Batman thinking while he was fighting with the hostages. He had to be extremely careful not to cause any permanent damage but it was proving to be extremely hard with every passing second. They had both Joker and Bane venom in their systems. Neither sedatives nor punches were working effectively and Batman had to end this mayhem quickly.

That was when he saw the gun pointed at Dick.

“No!” was all he could mutter before the gun fired.

“BANG!”

It all happened too fast.

One second, Joker pointed his gun at Dick’s face, and then he suddenly turned around and shot Jason, on his back.

Jason screamed in pain, Dick launched at Joker. Batman immediately ran to the real Red Hood.

 _‘Please don’t die on me,’_ he thought when he caught his son a moment before he fell. All of his back was stained in red.

But not blood.

_‘Thank God!’_

“Sonofabitch!” Jason said furiously. “I’ll kill that bastard.” He was trying to breathe evenly; probably the impact of the paintball bullet left him breathless.

“Yaaaay, Batsy! Now, now... Gotta mark my own black sheep, shouldn’t I? _HE-HE-HE-HA-HA!_ ” he saw Joker coming towards him, somehow got rid of the other Red Hood, and left him alone with the victims. It would probably be easier for him if his opponents weren’t enhanced with drugs.

“Red Hood, are you okay?” he asked trying to sound neutral. All these things; the place, the crowbar in Joker’s hand, that there are two Red Hoods in the warehouse, his son’s dead body, the smell of burnt flesh, the smell of iron in the air, blood, regret, shame...

_‘Focus. You are distracting yourself.’_

“Yeah yeah, I am fine but you’ve got to call your minions, you know that right?” Jason asked pointing at Nightwing.

“I know; you go help him. I will take care of the Joker!”

“No way! I know how you take care of him. You-”

“Red Hood!” Bruce looked at his son indignantly. He could see the distrust coming from his son. “Leave him to me. You should neutralize the victims.”

_‘You shouldn’t let him lay his hand on your children. You know what happens when he does.’_

“Do you understand?”

Red Hood looked at him warily and stood up.

“I have my eyes on you, Batman, be careful. The only reason that I allow you to handle things is that Joker is dying already. The moment he manages to escape from you, I will put a bullet in his brain. Damn me if I don’t.” with that, he ran to Nightwing’s help.

“Red Robin, Robin! Report.” said Batman while watching out for an attack from the Joker who was circling him with a nasty smile on his face and his crowbar in his hands.

“Batman this is Red Robin. The cops are a mile away from the warehouse. They have the intel somehow. They are coming to take Joker into custody. And obviously, they don’t like vigilantes. Or maybe it was just the demon spawn they don’t like.”

“-Tt- ” grumbled Robin.

Of course, they were coming to get Joker. How else could Joker get rid of the bats anyway? For Joker, going under custody meant that he would be free in less than a month. He had expected such a contingency plan from Joker but some things didn’t add up.

Joker sent a message to Red Hood, brought him here, wanted to kill him. Why? Why all of a sudden he lost his interest in Batman and attacked Red Hood? Why would he spend so much effort to kill him, again? What was his end-game? Why taking victims in? Red Hood would’ve come anyway. Why call the cops? Unless... they were not real cops which also wouldn’t make any sense.

“Red Robin, stop the cops before they come here. They might not be who they seem to be. Be careful while engaging. Something is wrong and they will only create more problems. Robin, take the Batplane and come to the warehouse. We will evacuate the Joker before cops arrive. Is it understood?”

“Yes, Batman. We are on it. Red Robin out.” He heard Red Robin saying.

“Awww Batsy! You used to be so strong, so intimidating. What happened to that big bat wolf? Now you need those punks’ help to take me down? You don’t really think they can do that, do ya?”” Joker made a huffing sound while snickering evilly. “You remember what happened the last time? Oooohhh... What I wouldn’t have done to see your sad face. They said you looked like a lost puppy.”

Joker’s grin grew wider when he realized that all of the vigilantes in the room were listening to him subtly or unsubtly in Batman’s case. He needed to take action, he looked around; Red Hoods were handling the victims, and Joker was engaged with him, holding his crowbar but no visible guns.

So Batman charged at him.

Fast, agile, and brutal. His kick met with Joker’s chin. He backpedaled when Joker swung a knife to his abdomen.

“Now, that’s the Batman I want to see. Such a shame that it won’t last long.”

He was strong. Stronger than a man who was at the last stages of cancer but not invincible. Even Bane’s venom had its limits. Aware of his advantage, Batman kicked Joker in the chest, and with a left hook to his face; Joker was on the ground, laughing but unmoving.

“ _HA-HA-HA-HEH-HEH-HEH..._ Oooooh. I am shaking in my boots BigBat. What are you going to do to me? Kill me? Are you gonna kill this poor, sick man? What a gentleman you are.”

Batman kneeled before Joker and zipped his hands. He emptied Joker’s pockets and threw him aside like a rag doll.

“You are already dying Joker. No. I won’t kill you but I will make sure you stay dead.” He hit a nerve, he could see the vague reflection of fear on Joker’s face for a moment. Then he gave Batman a Cheshire grin.

“You know... They said something else too...” he carefully glanced at Red Hoods who managed to bind the two of the hostages. “That you were sooo ashamed.” Joker took a deep breath. “ that you didn’t even tell anyone about your ‘insignificant’ mishap. Did ya?” He looked around again, seized all the heroes blatantly before licking his lips with pleasure.

_‘He is trying to manipulate you. Calm. Down.’_

“I bet you hadn’t even told to the original nuisance when I clipped your bird’s wing. When did he learn Batsy? Weeks later? Meeehhh... This is not my business at all, though I’ve got to say that I was surprised when you replaced the second one so quickly. How much later? 3 months? C’mon Batsy, even dogs grieve more than that when their fella dies.”

“You don’t know anything!” Nightwing intervened, obviously angry whether to Joker or Batman himself, Bruce didn’t know.

Joker tilted his head towards Nightwing, due to the paint on Jason’s back he knew who was who, a devilish smile on his face.

“Oops! Did I hit a nerve? _HE-HE- HEH_...Well, what can your old fella say? Even a broken clock is right twice a day.”

Batman glanced at the victims. Jason had bounded the last one. Good.

“Batman. This is Red Robin.” He heard Red Robin via comms, he was panting heavily.

“Report.”

“Cops are half a mile away, You should be quick. We cannot afford to engage with them. There are like more than 30 and they are armed.”

_‘Crap.’_

“Robin. We will be ready for departure in 2 minutes.”

“Copy that, Batman. The plane is ready.”

“Red Robin, meet us at the warehouse. Batman out.”

When they got outside, he could hear the sirens of the police cars. He moved Joker towards the Batplane while Jason and Dick were bringing the victims a few meters behind him.

“I am taking you to Watchtower if you are wondering,” he said. “You will be taken care of with the necessary medical assistance.”

“BWAHAHAHAHA! Batsy! You’re so generous, I’m almost touched but you...” he paused and took an exaggerated breath with his busted nose. “ always get me wrong. Who says I wanna treatment? Don’t you see? I am a performer, a showman. All want to do is...LAUGH!” he screamed the last words, spluttering.

“Do you want to hear my final joke?” 

Alarm bells rang inside Bruce’s head just when a blast swept him off his feet and everything went black all of a sudden.

****

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for bearing with this story. How did you find the chapter? Was it good? Were there any OOC characters that I need to be careful about? Comments and kudos are sincerely appreciated. They help me to make this story better.  
> Also, I did not add the fact that Dick had already killed Joker in the comics before because it didn't sit well with this story and its aim, I need my Grayson happier and less depressed.  
> Do you have any questions?  
> By the way, I will add the last chapter on Sunday. Till then, take care!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This bastard wanted a show? Some audience? So be it.   
> ‘His only audience will be his shadow. His only show will be his long miserable death in a small white room.’  
> Dick was going to make sure of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! As promised, the final chapter is here. I hope will like it. Thank you for your comments and kudos!

** DICK: **

It hurt.

His head, his back, his ribs. Everywhere, every part of him was hurting. Dick slowly tried to open his eyes.

_‘Oh, God.’_ Why was it so hard to wake up? All he wanted to do was sleep. To give in. Where was he anyway?

Not willing to open his eyes yet, he tried to feel his surroundings, tried to remember. He could feel the heat waves around him, the cold breeze of wind against the sharp warmth of his body. It was weird, inside he was freezing, outside he felt too hot and it was not in a fun way.

The smell of burnt fabric was in the air, it was mixed with a vague smell of burnt flesh and the sharp odor of blood. He could hear faint voices around him and sirens from far away; there was also a weird buzz in his head. Was somebody saying something? A sudden chuckle ringed in his ears, so silent that he could barely hear it.

“...-Batsy, he would come alone. So I called you, and you brought me the whole family. _HA!_ Four birds, plus a bat with one stone. What more could I want?”

_‘Shit!’_

Now he remembered.

The Joker.

Bosnia.

Warehouse.

And Jason.

_‘Shitshitshit.’_

Without making a noise, Dick opened his eyes as fast as he could. His sight was a little bit blurry and he could taste iron on his tongue. He could see the sun was rising along with the smoke around them.

Afraid of what he might see, he carefully turned his head towards the sounds, at where he saw the Joker.

He was choking Jason; the boy was trying to defend himself with his right arm only, while the other was bent in a weird angle below his elbow.

_The fucker._

They were only two meters ahead of him. His hand went for his gun. For a second, he thought of killing the Joker and get rid of him once and for all.

_‘Bruce would never forgive me.’_

Also killing Joker would be helping him, helping his aim. His desire to corrupt Batman and turn it into a sick show with the whole world as his audience.

This bastard wanted a show? Some audience? So be it.

‘ _His only audience will be his shadow. His only show will be his long miserable death in a small white room.’_

Dick was going to make sure of it.

With those thoughts in his mind, he silently stood up on his shaky legs and flew at Joker without hesitation. He couldn’t let his brother get hurt by this clown, again. He owed Jason that much.

Using Joker’s momentary confusion as his leverage, Dick tackled him to the ground and fell with him.

Hell, he was still feeling dizzy. Pulling himself together quickly, he punched Joker in the face and put his hands around his throat. Joker responded to him with a knife wound on his thigh.

_Ouch, rude!_

Dick tried not to scream with the sudden sharp pain. Fortunately, it was just a flesh wound. Not waiting for another lucky hit, he quickly held Joker’s hand and twisted it until he dropped off the knife. From his left, he could hear Jason’s faint coughs and hoped that his brother was fine.

“Red Hood, are you okay?” he shouted nervously. _Please be okay, Little Bird._

“Fuck... My arm!” He heard Jason’s hoarse voice. Somehow relieved, Dick turned his attention to the clown.

“Are you having fun Joker? Because I am now.”

Oh, what he wouldn’t do to be able to squeeze his throat only a bit harder, to crush his windpipe and get rid of him eternally.

_“HE-HHHA-HAA,_ Of course, I am. This slumber party is sooo amazing! Seeing Batsy laying on the ground; unaware that there is a predator hunting his birds, seeing my dead Robin and almost killing him again is giving me chills, ya know.” Joker said, his stupid grin was turning into something more sinister. “But you had to cut me off, hadn’t ya?” His voice had an edge in it. “You’re such a party pooper, Boy Wonder. You should’ve been patient and wait for your turn.”

Dick punched him in the face as a response.

_‘You should’ve never hurt my brother.’_

Dick tried to take a deep breath before he talked. There was a stinging ache on his chest. “ Well, I couldn’t resist the temptation. And the party hasn’t started yet; it will start the day you die.”

He punched again.

_“_ Boy, oh boy...” Joker managed to say. He took advantage of Dick’s labored breathing and stood up. “If you don’t stop now, people may think there is something between us. _HA-HAH-HAAA!”_

“You know what? Make as many jokes as you want while you still can.” His leg was really hurting and his vision was still blurry. “But you never heard my joke, did you? Well, listen closely then. When you die, no one will know about your death for a long time. They will wonder _‘where is the Joker? Why isn’t he out there and fighting against Batman?’_ If you were really an inspiring villain maybe you will have a few imitators at first. Years later, they will say _‘Oh, do you remember the maniac clown who terrorized Gotham? He was such a psycho. God knows what happened to him...’”_ Dick took a sharp breath while watching his enemy as carefully as possible.

_If only his vision didn’t waver..._

“And listen to me carefully please, because this is the funny part; maybe one or two decades later everybody will learn about your death and someone will say _‘do you remember the Joker? The clown? The showman? He is dead.’_ And then the other people will look at him with strange and puzzled looks on their faces until one of them stands up and says: ‘What is a Joker?’”

With one swift movement, Dick took off his helmet and gave a huge grin to Joker.

“You will be forgotten Joker. No one will remember you or any of your freaking shows. You will die in a room; all alone, staring at the white ceiling while trapped in your own insanity!” Dick said, while his eyes were searching for his family. Bruce and Damian were still out cold, while Jason was trying to gain his consciousness. Tim was busy with cops; he could hear their screams from afar and only hoped for his brother to be okay.

Meanwhile, Joker was staring at him with calculating looks.

“Okay, I got it. Everybody will forget me, and blah... blah... blah... Let’s play truth or dare, shall we? Will you –the mighty bats- be able to forget me? Forget what I’ve done? What I’ve taken from you? Or...” He stopped talking. Dick took it as a chance and punched him on the chest. Joker staggered a few steps but didn’t fall. “ _HEHEHE-BWAHAHA!_ Maybe you will remember me every time your little bird kills someone. Every time he breaks Batman’s ‘stupid’ code, every single time he tarnishes your legacy. Nah... You can’t forget me. Because you need a scapegoat, someone to blame. You... Need... ME!” Joker screamed, spitting blood on the ground while screaming.

“No, we don’t,” Dick answered nonchalantly. “We are a dysfunctional family, we have each other to blame. Why need you?”

Well, he must’ve hit a nerve considering the punch that he earned.

_It wasn’t supposed to hurt this much,_ he thought.

“Ouchh... You’re really dying, aren’t you? Look how weak you’ve become. You can’t even throw a decent punch. Pathetic.” Oh God, he always loved taunting Joker.

“ _HAAA!_ Who are you to talk, bird boy? You look a little bit short of breath. I hope everything is okay over there. Oh, my turn in the game. So, the truth is; while I hated the other Robins, I detested you Nightwing. You were the worst. The weakest. It was really a shame that it was your replacement that paid the price but not you. ”

_‘Welcome to the club Joker, I’ve been feeling that shame for years.’_

“One would think that it was me, that it was the Joker who killed the poor, tiny, little Robin. But deep down you knew it wasn’t me. Didn’t ya? It was you. It was always you. You brought demise upon all of your followers, all of the Robins and Batgirl. Hell, you doomed all of the side-kicks. Their blood is on your hands Nightwing. You started everything. You are their murderer, not someone else.”

“Shut up!” Why was it so hard to breathe? Why was the air so sticky?

_‘Why was the Joker talking like his inner demons?’_

“How many times did you thank God that it wasn’t you that I killed? Tell me Bird Boy, how many times?” Oh... I bet you felt relieved when I killed him, didn’t ya? ”

“Never! It was supposed to be me, not him. Never him!”

Something was terribly wrong. He wasn’t badly hurt by the blast and he knew from experiences that flesh wounds do not hurt much either. But here he was; unable to breathe accordingly, shivering, numb, and feeling as if he was carrying the weight of the world. Not to mention nausea and black dots over his sight.

_Shit!_ The blade must have been poisoned.

“Oopsie! You feeling under the weather? Must be the poison kicking. Yeah, yeah. I am evil. You already know that birdy!”

Hiding his hands behind his back, Joker came closer as if surrounding a wounded animal. Dick had a wild guess about what he was hiding.

“Don’t look at me so surprised WingWing. I am a freak anyway. A circus freak actually. Just like you...” he stressed every sound he made. “You and I, my boy. We feed on attention, interest, fame... That boy over there, he took Batman from you, just like you took him from me. It used to be Batman and Joker before you came and ruined my show. Then it turned into a lame, boring, soap opera ‘The dynamic duo’ Pfftt... Well, I would be beyond happy if you just died. Why wouldn’t you feel the same for your ‘brother’?”

“Cuz I love him, you psycho!”

The air was getting heavier in every passing second, he felt like he could lose consciousness at any second, he needed to do something. ASAP!

“Oh, yeah what a brother you are!” Joker was screaming at his face, completely forgot about the Batman who was awake now.

_Idiot, he was named as the Batman for a reason._

“You let your brother die at the hands of a psychopath, didn’t even care to go his funeral. What a brother! _HAHAHA-HAHA-BWAHAHAHAHA!_ ”

“I didn’t know! I didn’t know until it was too late.” “If I had known at that time, you wouldn’t be here, hurting my family again!”

_“PHAHAHAHA-HAHA-HAHAHEHEHEHE!_ Petty excuses.” Joker said at the same time he showed what he had in his hands.

Crowbar.

“ Well as you can see I am here now. Kill me already! What are you waiting for, Bird Boy? Waiting for me to kill another Robin? Well, you pick this time, I had my fun. Wanna be the first to go?”

“Mmmmh... I’ll pass.” Dick managed to say before he fell on his ass. “I... I am only distracting you, that’s all.” he managed to say before he lost his consciousness.

And hey! Was it a batarang that stuck to Joker’s hand?

****

**(A day later / Batcave )**

**...**

“Damian is okay, Tim is okay. You have a heavy concussion Jason, and your arm is also in a bad condition. You’re just lucky that you don’t have any permanent damage.” somebody said in his dream. _Bruce?_

“What about Dickhead over there? He was the one who bantered with Joker.” So Jason had heard him?

“He will be fine, he was poisoned by hemlock poison, luckily not in a huge amount. It will take some time for him to come around. Other than that, he just has some bruises here and there. Nothing serious.”

“Damn! He won’t get off my ass until I heal.” he heard Bruce chuckle a bit.

Well obviously, this was not a dream but he couldn’t find the power to wake up.

“He cares about you Jason, we all do.”

“Well, you have a great way of showing it,” Jason grumbled.

“I know. I just... I don’t want to grieve for you anymore, son.”

_‘Go on Bruce, bring him back to us.’_ he thought _._

_“_ Oh, I will if you allow me, Dick.”

****

**(4 Months Later –Next to Jason’s favorite Gargoyle)**

“So, how do you feel, little bird?” Nightwing asked with genuine curiosity.

“Well, not happy. But I feel content. I don’t know, I would probably be happier if I could put a bullet in his brain tho. Him, dying from brain cancer? It felt too easy, too human for a monster like that. But I don’t care anymore, the psychopath is dead. That’s all that matters.” Jason took a sip from his beer.

“Indeed.” Dick smiled at his brother. They were sitting on a rooftop, next to Jason’s favorite gargoyle, and eating their burgers peacefully.

Just like the old times.

_No._

This was going to be better than the old times.

****

**THE END**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well... such a ride :)   
> Thank you for being there with me throughout this story.  
> Until next time,  
> Farewell.


End file.
